Coe, Jonathan: *1961

The Closed Circle, 2004 - Information about the Book

General Information | Facts | Reviews | Interviews with the author

General Information
- The novel aims to be both a big, broad state-of-England saga and a close-up on an accountant, failing husband and would-be author of an epic "novel with music." It is the sequel (or as Coe prefers, the mirror image) to "The Rotter's Club". At the end of the book you find a summary of "The Rotter's Club."
- Information from Wikipedia
Facts
- The novel is part of Coe's acclaimed "Rotters' Club" trilogy, and Coe has been widely recognized as one of Britain's most accomplished and award-winning novelists of the past few decades.
- Characters
  Benjamin Trotter: The protagonist, who works as an accountant and is struggling to write a novel. He is still haunted by his first love Cicely, who left for America.
  Paul Trotter: Benjamin's brother, a Blairite MP who is part of a group called "The Closed Circle" that seems to be a group of politicians and businessmen looking to benefit themselves at the expense of worker.
  
  Claire Newman: Miriam Newman's sister, who solves the mystery of what happened to Miriam, who disappeared in the previous novel.
  
  Doug Anderton: A left-wing journalist who attended school with Benjamin and becomes disillusioned with his career.
  
  Philip Chase: Another school friend of Benjamin's who runs a publishing house. He offers to help Benjamin publish his novel.
  
  Malvina: A student who befriends Benjamin and also attracts the interest of his brother Paul, causing personal and political problems.
- Summary
  The story picks up in the late 1990s, with Benjamin, now in his mid-40s, struggling in his marriage and working on a massive unpublished novel. He meets a younger woman named Malvina and falls in love with her. Other characters from The Rotters' Club, like Doug and Philip Chase, also reappear as adults.
  Coe weaves in many real-world events and cultural references from the early 2000s, including the Millennium, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the rise of far-right politics in Britain. However, some reviewers felt the novel relied too heavily on chance encounters and coincidences to bring the characters back together in a "closed circle"
- Topics
  
  Key topics and themes in The Closed Circle include:
  1. The lives and relationships of the main characters from The Rotters' Club, including Benjamin Trotter, as they navigate adulthood and reflect on their youth.
  2. The social and political climate of Britain in the late 20th/early 21st century, with a focus on the rise of New Labour and disillusionment with the political establishment.
  3. Nostalgia, regret, and the search for closure in the characters' lives.
  4. The interplay between individual lives and broader social/political forces.
- Reader Rating:
Reviews
- The dread hand of Thatcher over us all. "It's easy to forgive the odd instance of automatic phrasing and the occasional clunky piece of character development." The Independent; September 5, 2004
- Squaring the circle. "It is all extremely readable and often entertaining. There is a consistent level of narrative facility and prose comfort that keeps the pages turning. But the major problem is that the novel feels rushed." Steven Poole, The Guardian; September 4, 2004
- The Pale People. Jenny Turner, The New York Times; June 19, 2005
Interviews with the author
- Interview conducted by Alex Mitchell. "I have always written novels about individuals attempting to make choices in the context of situations over which they have no control." April 2005
- From an evening with Jonathan Coe at the Literaturhaus, Zurich, Switzerland. Host: Thomas Bodmer. SwissEduc; May 8, 2006:
  - Talk about becoming a writer, "The Rotter's Club", "The Closed Circle" and why the chapters are numbered backwards.
  - British politics, New Labour and its problems, and its influence on "The Closed Circle".
  - The Meaning of the title "The Closed Circle".